Day and Night
by Merrymary05
Summary: What is the difference between Serena and Darien's relationship during the day and at night? Find out when Darien finds Serena in the park by herself one night.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes: This is a quick little story I wrote in about 3 days. It's not the best, but I had fun writing it. Hopefully you enjoy it too. Tell me what you think. Thank you!**

**Day and Night**

_Chapter 1_

It was 9pm and Darien just finished another late night of studying at the library. He would have continued if the librarian hadn't told him that the library was closing. _I just hope I'll pass that test tomorrow_ he thought to himself as he made his way home. He took a shortcut through the park to get to his apartment a little faster, but stopped when he saw someone sitting on a bench in front of the lake. Darien took a closer look and recognized the funny hairstyle and the long blonde hair. _What is she doing out here so late_ he wondered. He decided to speak to her and walked up to the bench she was sitting at. She didn't notice him while he was standing beside her, but he noticed that she was writing in a journal. "What are you doing here, Meatball Head?"

She jumped and looked up to see who was talking to her and rolled her eyes when she realized it was Darien. "It's none of your business, jerkwad," she said angrily as she slammed her journal shut.

"Don't you realize how late it is?" Darien asked taking a seat next to her.

"It's not that late," she protested. "It's only 9-something. I usually don't go home until 10 or 11."

"You mean to tell me you always come to the park at night to journal?"

"I don't always journal. Sometimes I just come here to think. Other nights I just like to watch the stars and the moon."

"I would have never guessed that you have much to think about," Darien said thoughtfully. Serena looked at him in annoyance. "I didn't mean it that way. I just meant that I didn't think you would have the need to think so much. You're so young and carefree that I just assumed you just take life one step at a time without a second thought. It's a different side to you."

Serena smiled. "Well, there are a lot of things you don't know about me."

They sat together in a comfortable silence listening to the sounds of the night and watching the stars go by. "What else is there to know?" Darien asked suddenly.

"Excuse me?" Serena said looking at him in confusion.

"What else is there to know about you?"

Serena stood up with her journal in her hands. "You'll just have to find out on your own," she said simply. And with that she started walking home.

Darien just watched her go with a smile on his face until she was out of sight before standing to leave himself. _That girl…_


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

Serena was running late and was making a mad dash towards the school. She set her alarm clock the night before, but she couldn't help that her younger brother Sammy liked to play tricks on her. _I'll kill him when I get home _she thought angrily to herself. _First I'll grab him, then choke him, and then…_ "Oof!" she yelled after bumping into someone outside the arcade. She proceeded to fall flat on her butt and drop all of her school books. "I'm sorry," she said quickly gathering her things. "I wasn't looking where I was going."

"Of course you weren't Meatball Head," a familiar male voice said above her. Serena didn't need to look up to see who it was, but she did anyway and found a hand extended towards her. "You really ought to wake up earlier."

Serena reluctantly took his hand and let him help her up. "Thanks for the free advice, jerkwad, but I already tried that. I've been waking up on time for the past couple of days, but my stupid brother messed with my clock and set it so I'd wake up too late."

"Aww, is baby Sewena gonna go to school and cwy about it?" he said in a baby voice.

"Aww, is baby Dawien gonna ever grow up and stop acting like a dumb 2 year old?" Serena spat back. "You're worse than my brother and he's 14!"

"Well you act like an immature 6 year old."

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"DO NOT!"

"DO TOO!"

"Do not do not do not!"

"Do too do too do too!"

"You're both acting like children right now!" Andrew said coming out of the arcade. "Serena, isn't it about time for school?"

"AHH!" Serena screamed. "Thanks a lot, jerkwad! Now I'm gonna be late." She started running towards the school again.

"You wouldn't be late if you didn't run into me all the time," Darien yelled after her before he started laughing.

"You're horrible," Andrew said shaking his head as they walked inside the arcade. "She's a sweet girl and you always have to pick on her."

"It's fun. She's an easy target so I can't help it."

"You can't help it because you have a crush on her," Andrew said cheekily.

"Do not!" Darien shouted.

Andrew laughed. "And you call her immature. I can see right through your little game so just admit it and get it over with."

"I'm not gonna admit to a lie, Drew."

"Whatever, Darien," Andrew said in a sing song voice. "Just keep telling yourself that." He left him at the counter and went to take care of the other customers.

Darien shook his head and took a sip of coffee. He did have to admit that Serena was cute and he did have fun picking on her, but he wasn't ready to say he had a crush on her. She acted so immature whenever they ran into each other and sometimes it was annoying. _She wasn't so immature last night_ Darien thought with a smile. There was a whole new side to Serena last night that he never saw before and he wondered what else she was capable of. The girl was a mystery to him, but part of him really liked that about her.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3_

Darien had no reason to be walking around at 9 o'clock at night, but he had to see if she was there again. He arrived at the park and sure enough he found Serena sitting at the same place she was the night before. He walked closer to her and automatically sat next to her. "What are you doing now, Meatball Head?" he asked noticing her scribbling on a large notepad.

"I'm drawing, jerkwad," Serena said never looking up at him. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

"And what exactly are you drawing, comic book characters?" Darien asked smugly.

Serena finally looked up and rolled her eyes at him. "See for yourself," she said shoving her sketchpad into his lap.

Darien took a look and was amazed at what he saw. It was a well drawn replica of the crescent moon hanging over the lake in front of them. He looked from the picture to the lake and back to the picture again. "Wow," he finally said. He flipped through her other pictures and was impressed by all the scenery she had drawn. He smiled when he came upon a picture he assumed was of himself looking like a pig sticking his tongue out. "I didn't know you had it in you, Serena," he said handing her sketchpad back. "They're all really amazing… you know except for that one that's supposed to be me."

Serena smiled cheekily. "There's a lot you don't know about me."

"Obviously."

Serena turned to a new page in her sketchpad. "Hold still. I want to draw a proper portrait of you. I need to practice drawing people."

Darien complied and Serena immediately began drawing. "Are you sure you just don't need a good view to make a better pig picture?"

"Nope, this is for real," she said continuing to draw. Darien remained silent for a while as Serena concentrated on her drawing.

"Have you ever considered submitting your art to any contests?" he suddenly asked.

"I don't want to," Serena said while still working. "I just draw for fun not to show off."

"It wouldn't hurt you to try."

"We'll see. Stop talking while I finish your mouth." Darien smiled and complied. "Perfect." Serena completed the final touches of her drawing. "Done! How do you like it?" she asked handing the sketchpad to him.

Darien took the sketchpad in his hands and looked at the picture in awe. He couldn't deny that Serena was an amazing artist and she had captured every detail perfectly. "You really are amazing. You should really consider sharing your work. People would really enjoy it."

"Do you really think so?" Serena asked hopefully.

"Absolutely."

Serena smiled and stood up. "Thank you… you know for being a good model and all."

Darien smiled back. "You're welcome." Serena walked back home and Darien stood up to do the same. _Who would have thought? Meatball Head is an artist._


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4_

Serena had arrived at the arcade after school with her friends Amy, Rae, Lita, and Mina and was having fun listening to their stories about their day. "I have met the man of my dreams," Mina said happily. "His name is Matt and he's new to my English class. I'm sure he's going to be my soul mate."

"That's what you said about Andrew," Lita said. "And then you found out about Rita."

"You also said it about Josh last year and he never said two words to you," Rae said.

"Don't forget about Robert," Amy added.

"But this is different," Mina protested. "I know he's the one. I can feel it."

Everyone laughed and Mina just pouted. Serena took a sip from her milkshake and looked towards the counter. _I wonder where he is_ she wondered while slurping the remains of her milkshake.

"Careful Meatball Head," Darien said smugly behind her. "If you keep drinking those milkshakes everyday you might turn into one."

_Speak of the devil._ Serena smiled but wiped it off her face before turning to face him. "Well you must already be turning into coffee because you're always so bitter. At least if I turn into a milkshake I'll still be sweet."

Darien snickered to hold back from laughing at her last comment. "At least I'm not a pig like you are." Darien held his nose up with a couple of his fingers and started snorting. "Look at me I'm Serena the piggy." He started making snorting sounds.

Serena was trying to hold in laughter when he did the pig face, but she lost it when he started snorting. "Stop it!" she said with laughter. But the more Darien kept snorting the harder Serena laughed. "I'm serious…stop!"

Darien finally stopped snorting and started laughing with her while Andrew and the girls looked at the two of them strangely. "Thanks for the laugh, Meatball Head," he said once the laughter calmed down. "I needed that."

"You started it, jerkwad," Serena said wiping the tears from her eyes. "But it's all good. I haven't laughed like that in a long time."

"I'll see you later, Meatball Head." He started walking towards the door and snorted again causing Serena to laugh and Darien to walk out of the arcade with a smile on his face.

"So what in the heck was that all about?" Lita asked.

"It was just a funny moment," Serena said.

"But Darien was laughing," Andrew said in amazement. "He rarely ever laughs like that."

"And you were laughing with him," Rae said.

"You didn't think he was making a funny face?" Serena asked.

"Well it was kinda funny," Amy admitted. "But it's just strange that you two were like laughing together. It was like you had an inside joke or something."

"I think you two have a secret relationship and you're not telling us," Mina said.

"Do not!" Serena protested quickly. "What makes you say that?"

"Something was just different about your usual run in with Darien," Andrew said. "You kinda acted like a couple."

"Did not!" Serena said. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Whatever you say," Rae said smugly.

Serena pouted while everyone else just laughed at her. They started a new conversation, but Serena zoned out to think. Even though Darien got on her nerves sometimes, Serena had to admit that he was a handsome man. She liked her daily run ins with him because she liked the attention he gave her, but she longed for him to give her attention in the positive context. Last night at the park when he praised her art was the closest thing she had and she really enjoyed it. _He was really sweet last night. Maybe there's more to him than I thought._


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter 5_

"Can you believe it?" Serena asked eating her popsicle. She brought a couple of popsicles with her to the park and planned to eat both of them, but Darien came and she decided to share. "They actually thought we were acting like a couple and we have a secret relationship or something."

"Well, we do kinda act like a married couple," Darien stated before licking his popsicle.

"What does that mean?" Serena asked.

"I was just kidding," Darien said with his hands up. "Andrew says that all the time and I don't believe him for a moment."

"Why would he say something like that?"

Darien shrugged. "Why would any of your friends suggest we're in love? Can't we have fun with each other every once in a while?"

"Exactly," Serena said. They sat in silence finishing their popsicles watching the moon over the lake. "Do you wanna play the question game?" Serena asked suddenly.

"What's the question game?"

"We get to ask one question at a time about the other person and the person has to answer truthfully. It's a 'getting to know you' kind of thing."

Darien thought about it for a moment. "I guess it can't hurt. There's stuff I wanna know about you. Can I start?" Serena nodded. "Why do you always come out here so late at night?"

Serena sighed. "It's the only time I can be by myself to think. I don't always like to be surrounded by people. It's so pretty here by the lake that it makes me calm and helps me forget about my worries."

"What could you possibly have to worry about?"

"One question at a time. But I do worry about a lot of things: my friends, my family, school, whether or not I'll get into college, the future… stuff like that. Why do you always pick on me?"

Darien smiled. "It's fun. You're like the little sister I never had so it's fun to get on your nerves. It's not like I do it to make your life miserable."

"But you've said some pretty mean things to me. You made me cry once."

Darien thought back to it and frowned. "I was having a horrible day and you just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I didn't mean to hurt you and I'm sorry it did."

Serena smiled. "You're forgiven," she said patting his hand.

"Why do you wear those meatballs all the time?"

"First, they're called buns not meatballs so get your facts straight," Serena said with dignity. Darien just smiled. "Second, it's a cute hairstyle. My grandmother did it for me when I was little and I just kept it ever since. What's your favorite dessert? Coffee?"

"No. Get your facts straight," he said mocking her. "I actually enjoy ice cream."

"What flavor? Mocha latte?"

"I thought we were supposed to be asking one question at a time." Serena shrugged. "Well for your information, I happen to like something I call hopeless chocolate devotion. It consists of chocolate ice cream with chocolate chips, chocolate brownie bits, chocolate sauce, and chocolate sprinkles. It's my personal creation and I love it."

"Oh, so you're a closet chocoholic."

Darien shrugged. "I have to have some kind of self control or else I'll never stop eating it. What's your favorite food?"

Serena smiled. "Don't laugh, but it's spaghetti and meatballs." Darien laughed and she punched him in the arm playfully. "I told you not to laugh."

"It's just funny because it's so ironic."

"I know. Spaghetti and meatballs have been my favorite food since way before I even knew you or that stupid nickname."

"I'm surprised. I would have thought it would have taken you some time to pick just one favorite food considering how you like to eat so much. Oink, oink."

Serena giggled and Darien smiled. "Why do you wear that ugly green jacket all the time?"

Darien stopped smiling and took his time answering the question. "It is kinda ugly, but what can you expect from the 80s?" Serena looked carefully at Darien and noticed he wasn't laughing at the joke he just made. "It was my father's jacket. He and my mother died in a car accident we had when I was 5. It's about all I have left of him and wearing it kinda makes me feel like he's still with me." He sighed.

"I'm sorry, Darien," Serena said patting his back. "I didn't mean to upset you. I shouldn't have brought it up."

"Don't apologize. You didn't know."

"Do you miss them?"

"One question at a time, Serena," Darien said trying to laugh. "But I do. They were the only ones I knew who truly loved me. None of the nurses or doctors cared about me. None of the adults at the orphanage liked me and none of the other kids wanted to play with me. It was a hard life and it just makes it hard to believe that anyone cares now."

"It shouldn't be, Darien," Serena said hugging him. "Andrew's your best friend so he has to care about you. Amy, Rae, Lita, and Mina all adore you. You should hear them talking about you at our sleepovers. You _always_ come up in the conversation and they always talk about how they want to marry someone like you." Darien smiled. "But most of all, I love you. I know I don't show it all the time, but I truly love you and I always will."

Darien was stunned by what she said at first. Serena had just told him that she loved him. He knew she meant it in friendship, but hearing the words "I love you" just triggered something special in him. He hugged Serena back. "I appreciate that," he said hoarsely. "I…I love you too, Serena." She squeezed him in a hug again and finally let go. "What's your most embarrassing moment? I need a laugh."

Serena smiled. "Are you sure you're ready for this?" Darien nodded. "Well, it was my first day of high school and I wore a cute outfit that day complete with heels. Silly me for wearing heels when I had to switch classes every bell, but anyway I was going up the stairs to my last class and I tripped. And instead of falling down the stairs, I fell up the stairs and then to top it off the book bag on my back slid over my head." Darien laughed. "Everyone on the stairwell laughed so hard and I was so embarrassed. No one even checked to see if I was ok."

"I would have," Darien said. "I would need time to stop laughing first, but I still would have helped you up."

Serena smiled. "Well I appreciate that."

*******

"…and that was my first detention," Darien finished. "It was the second worst day of my life and I was stuck with Andrew for a week for pulling that stunt."

Serena was laughing. "That's awesome," she said once she calmed down. She checked the time and gasped loudly. "12:30! We spent three and a half hours talking? I didn't realize it was so late. My parents are gonna flip."

"I should have checked the time sooner," Darien said guiltily. "Tell your parents to blame it on me if they yell at you."

"I had fun," Serena said quickly. "I'll see you later." She bolted home and ran as fast as she could while Darien watched her with a smile on his face.

"I had fun too," Darien said quietly.


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter 6_

Darien was out for his morning jog a little later than usual since he got in so late the night before and forgot to set his alarm. _It was worth it_ he thought with a smile before he collided with someone. "I'm sorry," he said quickly before looking down to see who he ran into.

"I shouldn't have been running so fast," she started at the same time before she looked up to see her victim. "Oh, Darien, I'm sorry."

"No it was my fault, Serena," Darien said helping her up. "Do you need a running mate for school? I woke up late for my jog."

Serena started running and Darien followed. "Do you think you can keep up?" she asked when he finally caught up with her.

"I could use a new challenge," Darien said. "Do you think you'll make it on time?"

"I'll be fine. The school is just 3 blocks away and I'm actually kinda early. I usually make it just in time."

"I guess staying out late has the opposite effect on you."

"I guess so," Serena said breathlessly as they arrived in front of the school. She stopped while he continued running in place. "Thanks for running with me. It was fun."

Darien stopped for a moment. "No problem, Meatball Head. It was a good challenge."

Serena reached up and brushed the bangs from in front of his eyes. "It was in the way of your eyes. You need a haircut, jerkwad."

Darien smiled. "Thanks for the reminder. Have a wonderful day." He ran off while Serena watched with a smile on her face. After a moment she walked into the school and made her way to her homeroom. She took a seat and the bell rang 5 minutes later.

"Am I being punk'd?" Mrs. H. asked when she saw Serena sitting in her seat. "Is this some type of trick? It's not April Fool's day, is it class?"

The class laughed and Serena rolled her eyes. "No ma'am. I'm really here on time. I got an early start today."

"She was running here with some guy," Melvin said. "The adrenaline from running with someone so attractive could have boosted her chances of arriving to the school faster."

"Oh," one of the girls said. "So you need a boy toy to function better, Serena?"

"No, Darien is just my friend and just walked me… erm ran me to school."

"Whatever," Mrs. H. said. "Please pass in last night's homework. Serena gets a 0 for the day because she didn't do it…"

"No ma'am, I did," Serena said passing in her worksheet. "See?"

Mrs. H. examined her paper carefully. "Oh my God, you did. Let's give her a hand class." Applause filled the room, but Serena was not amused.

*******

"…and that's what happened this morning," Serena said at lunch. "Can you believe it?"

"I would have thought the same thing," Rae said. "I mean how often do you actually do your homework, Serena?"

"I'm capable," Serena said.

"We know you are, but no one expects you to actually do it," Amy said.

"Or to get to school on time," Mina added.

"But I can and I did," Serena protested.

"And hopefully it'll become a habit," Lita said. "Have any of you gotten your acceptance letters yet? I got mine from cooking school yesterday."

"I got mine from medical school months ago," Amy said. "I told you that."

"I got accepted on a music scholarship," Rae said.

"And I got a young actor's scholarship to my school," Mina said happily.

"Congratulations," Lita said. "What about you Serena?"

"She's not gonna get accepted anywhere," Rae said before Serena had a chance to answer.

"It is unlikely," Amy said. "Colleges look hard at transcripts, but it's not impossible for her to get into school somewhere."

"You can always go to community college," Mina suggested. Serena got up and left without a word. "What did I say?"

"Way to put her down," Lita said. "You didn't even give her a chance to answer. You all just jumped on her like a bunch of vicious piranhas."

*******

"Serena you're failing English!" Ken yelled slamming her progress report on the table. "You'll never get into college that way."

"A C+ isn't failing, dad," Serena said quietly.

"When are you gonna start trying, sweetie?" Irene said gently. "You might not even get into the community college if you keep this up."

Serena crumpled her acceptance letter to art school under the table. "We got report cards today," she said taking it out of her pocket.

"Great, what did you get now?" Ken said sarcastically. "All Ds and an A in art class? Big deal."

"Kenneth!" Irene yelled. "An A is good. At least it's an A."

Serena placed her report card on the table and left the room. Ken snatched it and gasped. "All As and Bs," he said quietly.

"And when was that progress report dated?" Irene asked.

Ken looked at the progress report and frowned. "2 weeks ago." He sighed and held his head in his hands. "What have I done?"


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter 7_

Serena was at the front door with her book bag and was about to leave until her brother stopped her. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"None of your business, Sammy," Serena said wiping her eyes. "Just tell mom and dad I went to eat with the girls and I'll be back later."

"If it counts for anything, I'm proud of you Serena," he said handing her the acceptance letter she dropped. "I knew you'd get in. I saw your drawings." Serena smiled at him before leaving.

*******

Darien came to the park that night, but was taken by surprise when he found Serena crying on the bench. He took a seat beside her and pulled her into a hug. "Serena, what's wrong?"

Serena just cried harder into his chest and Darien simply held her. When she calmed down, she pulled away from him. "I'm sorry I cried all over you," she said quietly.

"Don't worry about it," Darien said stroking her hair. "Why were you crying?"

"I had a horrible day. My class made fun of me because I was on time, my friends apparently don't believe I'm good enough to make it into college, and my parents don't believe in me. I've been laughed at, criticized, yelled at, misjudged, and not taken seriously at all. I didn't even get a chance to show them this." She handed Darien her acceptance letter to art school.

Darien read over the letter and smiled. "I thought you didn't want to share your art."

"I said I didn't want to submit my art to any contests. Get your facts straight. I sent that off a month ago, but wasn't sure if I'd get in."

"Well you did. Congratulations. I'm really proud of you."

Serena laughed. "It's funny. The only ones who said they were proud of me today were you and my little brother… the ones who are supposed to be my enemies."

"I can understand if your brother might be your enemy, but I'm certainly not. I never wanted to be your enemy, Serena. I just mess around with you because I like you." Darien was surprised at what he was saying. _I like you_ he kept repeating in his mind. The more he repeated it in his mind, the more he liked it.

"You like me?" Serena asked skeptically. She was sure he meant that in friendship, but the affection she saw in his eyes told her it had more meaning than that.

Darien smiled. "Yes. I like you Serena." He sighed. "I should have seen it coming and I can't believe I'm doing this, but I have to get it out before I go crazy. I like you Serena… as in I kinda have a crush on you. I didn't realize it until a couple of days ago. I saw you during the day as a person with a childlike personality so free and full of life and then I see you at night as this sophisticated young woman full of surprises. I liked what I saw both day and night and now I find that I want to know more and more about you. So yes, Serena, I like you a lot."

"Wow," Serena said with a smile. "I wasn't expecting all that, but I'm glad you told me because I like you too. I mean you can still be a jerkwad by day, but our meetings at night helped me to see you in a different light. There is a sweet, kind, gentleman in there and I like him. But I also like the same guy who teases me every day… the same guy who gets that sparkle in his eyes and that silly little smile on his face when his attention is focused on me. So yes, Darien, I like you too."

"So what do you suppose we do about this?" Darien said taking her hand into his.

"Do you wanna make it official?" Serena asked caressing his hands. Darien got down on one knee and Serena's eyes went wide. "Not like that! I don't even know if I'm in love with you yet."

Darien laughed. He liked pretending to propose to Serena, but he needed time to make sure he was truly in love. He took a seat beside Serena again and kissed her hand. "I know. I just did that to see what you would do. Will you still be my girlfriend?"

Serena smiled. "Of course I will."


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's notes: I realize I could have stopped this story at the last chapter, but I had to write one more for closure and some humor. Let me know what you think.**

_Chapter 8_

Serena and Darien walked hand in hand towards her house to tell her parents the news. They stopped in front of the door and took a moment to gather their thoughts. "I can't believe you talked me into this," Darien said. "What if your dad kills me?"

"He won't as long as I'm around," Serena said caressing his hand. "I'll tell them my news about the school and then ease them into our relationship. Everything will be fine."

Darien sighed. "If you say so."

Serena smiled at him and opened the door with her house key. They walked inside and found both of her parents sitting in the den watching television. "Mom, dad," Serena said. "I'm home." Darien stepped back towards the stairs so he wouldn't be in the way.

Serena's mother turned off the television and immediately went to hug her. "Oh, Serena, I was getting worried. You were gone for so long."

"You know I always come in around this time after I go to the park," Serena said.

"Not last night you didn't," Serena's father said. "You came in around 1230am on a school night."

"She already apologized this morning, Ken," Serena's mother said. "Don't you have something you need to say to her?"

"I was getting to it, Irene," Ken whispered loudly. "Serena, I owe you an apology for how I acted earlier. I'm sorry I yelled at you and I'm sorry I misjudged you."

Serena hugged him. "It's ok, Daddy. I didn't get a chance to show you this earlier." She took out the acceptance letter to art school and handed it to him.

Ken read it excitedly while Irene read it over his shoulder. "Oh, honey, this is wonderful," Ken said hugging her. "When did you apply?"

"A month ago," Serena said. "I just got the letter today."

"So all those As in art class paid off," Irene said proudly.

"Yeah," Serena said looking towards Darien who joined her at her side. She took his hand and caressed his knuckles. "And because Darien. Mom, Dad, this is my new boyfriend Darien." Irene smiled while Ken looked like he was about to have a heart attack. "Daddy, don't have a cow. Darien's only 2 years older than me and he's a great guy. He's the one who actually influenced me to do better this year. He didn't say it in so many words, but something about being around him every day made me want to do better."

Ken smiled and shook Darien's hand. "Well, if he's someone who'll make my daughter a better person, then he's ok by me. It's nice to meet you."

"Would you like to stay for a late night snack," Irene offered.

Darien smiled and squeezed Serena's hand. "I'd love to."

*******

"I can't believe we're really doing this," Serena said holding Darien's hand. They were on their way to the arcade to surprise everyone.

"It's gonna be ok," Darien assured her. "You stood up to your class today so I'm sure you can stand up to your friends."

"I've already forgiven them about yesterday," Serena said. "I just don't want to hear their screams when they find out about us."

"Well I'm not looking forward to Andrew teasing me for the next few weeks telling me 'I told you so.'" They stopped in front of the arcade. "Are you ready?"

Serena nodded and they walked inside the arcade. The bells jingled and Andrew immediately looked up to see who came in. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things when he caught sight of Serena and Darien holding hands. "Here we go," Serena whispered as they sat at the counter.

"It's not April Fool's day, right?" Andrew asked.

"No, Drew it's not," Darien said. "Meet my new girlfriend Serena."

"Hi Andrew," Serena said sweetly.

"Since when? How?"

"We've been seeing each other at the park for the last four nights," Serena started. Andrew's jaw dropped and Serena giggled.

"I was coming home from the library the first night and ran into her at the park," Darien explained. "We saw each other like usual during the day and then met together unofficially at night."

"We got to know each other better at night and it kinda overflowed during the day," Serena said. "You and the girls saw evidence of that the other day. Oink, oink."

Darien laughed. "But I asked her out last night. We told her parents right after and decided to go public today."

Andrew smiled. "I told you you had a crush on her! And you called me crazy. Ha! Who's the crazy one now? Darien because he's crazy in love…"

"This is what I was afraid of," Darien whispered to Serena. She giggled while the door bells jingled again. They both looked up and saw Amy, Rae, Lita, and Mina enter the arcade. "Round two," he whispered as they walked towards them.

"Serena, we're really sorry about yesterday," Mina said.

"Yeah, we didn't even give you a chance to say anything," Amy said.

"Don't worry about it," Serena said. "I've already forgiven you. Look what I got yesterday." She handed Amy her acceptance letter while the other girls read it over her shoulder.

"Yes!" Lita said excitedly. "I knew you could get in somewhere. Congratulations!"

"I didn't know you could draw," Rae said. The girls continued excitedly talking about Serena's success.

"You should see some of her work," Darien suddenly said. "She's very good."

The girls stopped talking and finally noticed that he was sitting next to Serena holding her hand. Serena held her head in her free hand. "Here come the screams…" she warned Darien.

"AHHH!" the four girls screamed at once while Darien covered his ears.

"No way," Lita said.

"Meatball Head and Darien… together?" Rae said in disbelief.

"I knew it!" Mina said excitedly.

"Are you two really dating?" Amy asked.

"As of last night," Andrew answered for them. "Didn't I tell you?" He hi-fived Mina. "No one ever listens to us."

"But you guys argue all the time," Rae said.

"How did this happen?" Amy asked.

"Was Mina right for once when she said you had a secret relationship?" Lita asked.

"Come on, tell us!" Mina said.

The girls continued their questioning spree at the same time while Andrew kept talking about how right he was. Serena and Darien just looked at each other and smiled. "When do you think they'll be ready to listen?" Darien asked.

"Give them a few minutes to notice we aren't talking," Serena said knowingly. "Wanna share a hopeless chocolate devotion ice cream?"

"Gladly," Darien said standing up with Serena. They quietly escaped the girls and went to a nearby booth to order their ice cream from another waitress.

_The End_


End file.
